Saddam trial to start

Ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, pictured right, will face charges of premeditated murder, torture and forced expulsion and disappearances when he goes on trial on Wednesday for a 1982 massacre of Shiites.

Ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, pictured right, will face charges of premeditated murder, torture and forced expulsion and disappearances when he goes on trial on Wednesday for a 1982 massacre of Shiites.

A second case against Saddam and other defendants for another of the atrocities allegedly carried out by his regime could be presented to the Iraqi Special Tribunal within days, investigating judge Raid Juhi said in Baghdad.

* Iraq's landmark constitution seems assured of passage after initial results showed minority Sunni Arabs had fallen short in an effort to veto it at the polls.